Protesters formed a ‘dole queue’ outside Chancellor George Osborne’s constituency office in a demonstration against government cuts. They stood in line on the pavement outside the Conservative office on Manchester Street in Knutsford – mimicking a 1979 Tory election poster.

Protesters formed a ‘dole queue’ outside Chancellor George Osborne’s constituency office in a demonstration against government cuts.

They stood in line on the pavement outside the Conservative office on Manchester Street in Knutsford – mimicking a 1979 Tory election poster.

The powerful poster image, created by advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi, showed a long queue of jobless workers under the title: "Labour Isn’t Working."

Council workers, trade union activists and Sure Start campaigners joined the mock queue on Saturday. They carried banners that said: "The Coalition Isn’t Working."

Activist and photographer Richard Searle, who organised the demonstration, said: "This is a very British form of protest that utilises the backbone and cornerstone of our great society, our ability to queue in public places.

"Margaret Thatcher came to power with the image that the Labour government had led to high unemployment, with the irony being that it then rocketed under her government."

He added: "I wanted to create an image that comes back to haunt George Osborne as much as it haunts millions of us at the moment."

Kay Phillips, 44, a GP from Harpurhey, said: "I work as a doctor, so I listen to about 30 to 40 people a day telling me what’s wrong with them.

"People are miserable, they're anxious. They’re making people ill. People are worried about losing their jobs, they’re worried about their children losing their education. It’s not fair."

Anna Vickery, 28, a childminder from Chester, said: "We’re here against the cuts that are taking place. We feel the cuts are unnecessary. There are alternatives and it’s affecting a lot of people in a not very good way."

Nonnny Shearer, 66, who lives near Chester, said: "The cuts will affect just about every normal person in this country. They’re being put forward by a government that did not have a clear majority. They are putting forward policies that they didn’t run their campaign on."

Joan Meredith, 81, who also lives outside Chester, said: "Cuts are affecting every age group in the country and I feel that there’s no need for it."

Local councils and other public sector bodies are making cuts in a bid to save money. Manchester council is set to lose 17pc of its workforce by cutting 2,000 jobs.

Jimmy Thornton, from the Manchester branch of the Unite union, said: "This is the start of the campaign to resist the cuts and the devastation that has been caused by the coalition government."